Vacuum-jacketed container



Dec.- 6, 1927.

2 Sheets-snee?. l

w B WRIGHT ET AL VACUUM JACKETED CONTAINER Filed Nov.1o, 191g 14S R nWAMWMFMQX Dec. 6, 1927.

W. B. WRIGHT ET AL VACUUM' JACKETED CONTAINER Filed Nov.10, 1919 2Sheets-Sheet 2 jateluted13er;v 6, 1927 @mi UNITED STATES PAT i WII'MAM.B' WRGHT AND WILLIAM MFARFX, ,or WASHINGTON, Disriucr oircomiiuisrglrl j,L

f VACUUM-rncxn'rnn CONTAINER, i v

`Application filed NovemberlO, 1919. Serial'No. 336,797.

Hitherto vacuum-jacketed containers' to hold various substances (usuallyfood prod-1 ucts) such as ice-cream, inilk,'etc., which it is desirableto maintain at a Vuniform tem- 5 perature for a certain length of timefor example a few hours or even a day or more have-been made to maintainduring their life in their surrounding heat insulating jackets a-vacuumas stable as possible. p

An illustration of suclicontainers is found inthe so called Dewar vacuumbottle, which is normally used to maintain for a limited time either hotor col-d food products or other similar materials at an approximatelyVpredetermined uniform temperature, that is either at a certain lowtemperature, Such as that of ice, or at a certain high temperature,`such as'tliat of 4boiling water.

When such receptacles or containers,.such as a Dewar vacuum bottle areconfined to' individual or family use they are of advan- .tage and.perform a desirable function.l Such containers are not howeversuitablefor shipping to a distance food or other similar products lsuchas ice-cream, cream," milk, oysters,` fruits or vegetables because theyare expensive to make, are usually relatively frail and are liable forreasons given herein not to be returned to the shipper or seller.-l

For the ultimate purchaser f or consumer would be induced tor keep them1n most cases for their own use, and this obviously would result in agreat loss to the producer,

' seller or shipper as the case may be.

' Therefore, itwould be necessary in' ordercharge such rates upon thefood or other Aproducts shipped in these vacuum containers aswouldresultin prices beingv imposed, 40

the wide and extended shipment and sale of such products. f u v y lTheabove named defects of Vstructure -of such containers 'and resultantllimited use of them are avoided by the satisfactory cheap p andserviceable container which is involved in our invention, which newcontainer is, A characterized by having simple and eflicieii't means fordestroying` or breakingthe vacue' um when the container is opened to*obtain access to the food orother'similar products found therein.'r y I.y

Our invention therefore to cover this normally unavoidably loss to,

to' the ultimatepurchaser or'user which would be practically prohibitivetole Y relates to an en "tirely new kind of vacuum container Where whenthe delivery A'to the ultimate pur chaser or 'consumer is made, thevacuum is brokenv and the container 1 thereafter-ren# dered of littleuse to purchaser after the container hasfbeen opened; For when saidcontainer is opened, "the vacuum is broken and the container becomes asimple vessel having little or no heat'. insulating qualitiesandthereforeis ofl-no especial use-tothe ly, a vacuum jacket` orcompartment,v an air-l depleting' or exhausting means such' as V'a i '1valve forfexhausting the air in said jacket or compartment, an'airintake valve normalyly hermetically sealed', whichl 'on being opened,vbreaks the vacuum 'in the jacket,

and means operatedl by, or'connected with, s

the .coverfofthe container fto operatethe airintake valve.v v l For thereasons vabove named', applicants consider themselves yto be the firstand original inventors' of "a commerciallyv practical Ivacuum-jacketedcontainer wherein a serviceable vacuum is maintained untilsuch time as'the `co'i'itaii'iers cover is opened for the removal ofthe enclosed foodproducts.` Thus the;saidlfoodproducts are maintained at a desiredtemperature until delivery and then the vacuum inthe containers jacketor compartment is broken in an efficient way so asVV to render thecontainer substantially useless after the said container hasfbeenopened( Turning now to the drawings which form Figures l and 2 show',respectively, in1ele`` part `of the application and specification:

vation and partial broken section, a modified v alveyin'to the vacuuinfjacket j is normally tightly sealed by a washer held down on thecontainer wherein, when the containers l coverV is closed, the portofthe air intake port of the said vi'ntake'-valve'.byxaspring l of thevfruit jar type;` y y Y Figures 3 ande show another'formlof con-, tainerwherein a fruit jar type of spring holds down the 'cover ofthelcontainergaiidf likewise holds closed'e.` gp by a, washer aiVrotary-air'intake valve which lintake valvel is opened and closed' bythe rotary "move-vV Y ment of' the valve stem or" the structure shown inFigures 3 and 4;

Figure 7 shows our preferred form ot conj perature until its has reacheditsdestinatainer; and v y Figures 8 and 9 show the top of thecontainer-With openings orrvalve ports ot a different number into ithetop of the vacuum jacket or compartment. I

J is the vacuum jacket `or compartment around the said container and-Vis lthe depleting or eXhaiist valve for the sadvacuum Y jacket orcompartment whereby air is depleted from saidjacket.- The cover B shouldbe made either of .efficient heat insulating material ot the properthickness or` it should be formed of a chamber either filled with air.permanently'or elsel tormingfin. itself a rela-- tively smallvacuu-injacket J lentirely sepa-V rated and; distinct from the mainvacuum jacket or'compartment J, it being obvious that When B' is in theform ofv a.A vacuum jacket it should have its ogWn separate and distinctair exhausting valve, V whereby it can also be exhausted ot air throu-gha separateV pipe. at the same time the main vacuum chamber or`compartiment' J is. depleted or else could .be exhausted by the saineexhaust ing pump apparatus before V`or after the main vacuum jacketi'lJdepleted.-` But in all cases when the cover B is4 inthe form of 'avacuum jacket -it is to `be absolutelyseparate and distinct and in lnoWay connected With the main vacuum jacket or comparu, ment J around thebody-of the container, For itv is an essentialv feature of ourl con--tainer that thereshall. be `no-connectioirbe ltween the main vacuumjacket or compartment J and any other chamber such as the relativelysmall vacuum chamber forming the cover rB said cover is in the form ofVso Y the :tood'or othersubstance to be shipped has a vacuum chamber,.since any connection between the main vvacuum chamber Vor.compartmentvJ and anyotherchambem which connection is broken upon the.opening of the. container,vWould inevitably lead, in use, to theleakage of-air intojthe main vvacuum chamber so as to destroy almostcompletelyV been placed in the'chamber A theuair is exhausted from thevacuum jacket or com-k partmentvJ after the cover hasbeenclosed point.v

In some cases th-e vacuum jacket or comdown upon the container. Thecontainer is then ready to Vbe shipped to any desired partment of thecontainercoiiloll be made of vor lined With heat insulating material.

A It is then apparent that the food orlother product carried in thecontainer will be maintained at an approximately iixed temtion and thecover has been raised or opened, when the release ot pressure ofthecover will release the Washer or Yother air inlet cover over thel airintake valve O andy promptly destroy the vacuum in the vacuum jacket. J.f

Y Figures l an'l 2 show one form of our container which may resemblesomewhat in shape and in .the kindot spring used, a fruit jar. VVhenthespring S2 is closed over the topl B oit tliecontainer A so as to hold Ythe. same down tightly, the extension of theV saidl spring holds downthe Washer` W tightly over the port of the air intakey valve O inthevacuum jacket or compartment of the container and seals tightly saidval-ve O against thev entrance ot any air, into rtheV vacuumy jacket orcompartment1J.V When the spring S2 is snapped up so as to release thecover B itV likewiseraises the Washer carried by the part C attached tothesprin-g4 S2 from the Aportjof `the air intake valve() t and permitsthe air to instantly break the vacuum inthe vacuumv chamber or-compar'tment J by rushingl into said chamber.

Figures 3 ,andft show another lfor-mfof container wherein the fruit jartype of springS2 holds down tightly `the' cover B on tliecontainer A andlikewise causes the stem R2 of the port of the rotary air intake valvetov close the said intake valve O. When the` Y Figures 5 and Gfshow `thevalve of' the' ,structure of Figuresy and 4 in `sideview,l a l Y, `InFigure isA shown What is. :tor a 4nuin-,l i

ber of reasons our preferred form ofrn'vention, because, among otherthings, it is simplein structure, efficient and inexpensive.

A is a vacuum container with its interior chamber Au to'. receive thefood or other materials tobetra'nsported and Bis the cover or screw capupon which is an inner screw.`

thread upon f its/lower part 'or' flange Fl which SCreWsinto acorresponding thread onthe upperpartV of the body of thecon'- tainer Aand When screwed downpressesa Washer WV on a hole or valve port v02er aseries of intake valve-ports orl holes or. open-Vv 1,651,655 j j v j .z3

ings O2 on the endot the vacuum jacket orV compartment J in proximity tothe top B, so that the Washer closes said valve ports or openingsorholes O2 tightlyseale'd against the air and maintains a vacuum -in thevacuumv jacket or compartmentV J when said jacket is depleted ofairthrough the valve V after ther cover B hasbeenfscrewed doivnuponthefcontainer A. It is `obvious that it iis timate purchaser or userto still'maintain4 the vacuum for a further period, an inner circularpiece or sub-cover, B', maybe screwed into the main cover B in such aWay that it cannot be removed :trom thecover except by the use of aspecial instrument,

sucli as the normal customer would not have.V

This is shown in the cover in lfigureln It is obvious that the materialof Which the body oit the container is made may be Y such as would bcsuited to the particular use.' For example a container might be made otsheet iron or so-called galvanized iron,.or it glass, or

might in certain cases be made of perhaps ot aluminum. j

In all forms of the container it is preferable to use strengtheningpieces or braces between the inner andouter sides of the vacuum jacketor compartment, such as arek shown at M in Figure 7. In tact any form ofbracing device could be used, such as a horizontal or verticalgirdle-like structure,

I for example.

In the claims of ourv application vWe have used the expression acontainer comprising a body portion having spaced Walls providing aunitary vacuum compartment or chamber. We intend to mean by lthisexpression thatvthe vacuum jacket Vor compartment J aroundthe-'container A is to have during use no connection Whatever with anyother chamber or receptacle (except the preliminary and temporaryconnection through the exhausting valve with. a temporarily connectedair depleting pumping apparatus prior to shipment). That is in case thecover of the container is made in the form of a relatively small vacuumjacket, said small jacket is to be entirely separated and completelydisconnected from the main vacuum jacket or compartment, and is to beVln most cases, however," the Vcover `vvould compriseaheat insulatingmaterial suchas cork,` felt, asbestos,' or Wood, ofsuiicient fthicknessto 'form anxei'iicient heat insulating `1 .l .y -j

When the cover comprises a-hollowgbody containingl `an air space. orcomprises a ysmall permanent vacuum space, it is obvious that:v

said space Would-have necessarily *no connecti-on Whatever ivithl the'main vacuum chamber .orfjacketor compartment JI* lvl/'e claim:H l: Acontainer comprising a bodyportion having spaced Walls providinga1unitary vacuum compartment, a lid `orv cover for said container, adepletingV or exhausting `i/*alveconnected to said compartment Landmeans associated Withthe lid or coverof said container, to closesaidinlet opening when the cover. is applied andf to permit destructionof the vacuum "When-the-cover'v is removed. j A

2. A container comprising a body portion having spaced Walls providing aunitary vacuum compartment, a lid or cover for said container, adepleting or exhausting valve connected with said vacuum compartmentVKland means associated with the coveror lid vand operable to break thevacuuml when desire having spaced Walls providing a unitary vacuumcompartment, a lid or cover, for said container, a depleting orexhausting valve connected to said compartment, a'normally opened by theraising of the lid or cover of the container thereby admitting air intothe i Y vacuum compartment.

o. A container comprising a body portion 5 closed air intake portAconnected to said; Vvacuum compartment Which intake port 1s 4t. Acontainer comprising a body portion having spaced Walls providing aunitary vacuum compartment, a lid or cover for said container, adepleting or exhausting valve connected with said vacuum compartment,normally closed air intake ports connected to said compartment, andmeans associated vwith. and operated by the movement of the cover or lidof t-he container to open said air intake ports to admit air into saidvacuum compartment.

'5. A container comprising a body portion V having spaced Wallsproviding a unitary vacuum compartment, a lidH or cover for saidcontainer, a depleting or exhausting*` valve connected to` said vacuumcompartment,` af

normally closed air-intake opening or port Vcoi'mected with saidvacuumrcompartment and Washer for tightly closing saidxportk oropening,vthe'ivasher being relievedl from pressure and being madecapable of removal' when and by thereinoval of the cover or lid. 6. A.container comprising a body portion having` spacedV Walls providing aunitary vacuum coinpartment,a lid or cover for said container, adepleting or exhausting valve connected with said vacuum compartment, aport or hole in said vacuum compartment in proximity to the cover or lidof lsaid container, and an interposed Washer or similar deviceto keepthe vacuum intact inthe said vacuum compartment7 the said cover or lidfitting tightly down upon the said Washer,

lmentnear the container-lid or cover7 a Washer or equivalent devi-cewhich when the container is closed is pressed tightlyf'doivn over theport or, opening and a cap or cover fasteneddown tightly upon the Washerand container to close the port or opening into thevacuu-mgcoinpartnient and also to close the container. y

8. A container comprising a body portion having spaced Walls providingla unitary vacuum compartment7 a lid or cover for said container, adepleting or exhausting valve connected With said vacuum. compartment,an opening or inlet port in said compartment near the containers top, aWasher or equivalent device Wliicli When the container is closed ispressed tightly down over'the inlet port or opening and a vscrew-cap orcover screwed' down upon the Washer and container to close the inletport or opening into the vacuum compartment and also to close thecontainer. v

In testimony whereof We' aix our signatures. l

Y WILLIAM B. WRIGHT.

lWILLIAM M. FAIRFAX.

